213 – Sherri Bothwell – Pastor’s Wife Losing Religion, Gaining a Voice

Sherri has been in leadership positions and ministry in Independent Baptist Churches from the time she was saved at the age of 11. her and her husband planted a church after leaving the Independent Fundamental Baptist denomination due to waking up to the spiritual abuse we both suffered from the-pulpit-to-the-pew all our lives. They desired to fix what we saw was wrong and do it right, not realizing until it all crashed and burned in a big way as a result of spiritual abuse from the-pew-to-the-pulpit that it was an exercise in frustration and futility; an utter impossibility due to the systemic corruption of organized, institutionalized, westernized churchianity. After 33 years as a faithful, devout believer, Bible teacher, and pastor’s wife, her tireless study of theology, apologetics and the historical, cultural, textual context of the original languages of the Bible coupled with full-time religious trauma informed advocacy work with abused, neglected and sexually assaulted and addicted women and children, led me away from belief in the Bible and the god of Christianity entirely.